Human-Animal Chimera Prohibition Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3542 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain types of human- animal chimeras. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2021 Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. HARRIS, Mrs. FISCHBACH, Mr. BABIN, Mr. JACKSON, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. KELLY of Mis- sissippi, Mr. DAVIDSON, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. ROY, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. GOOD of Virginia, and Mr. VAN DREW) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain types of human-animal chimeras. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Human-Animal Chi- 4 mera Prohibition Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:11 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3542.IH H3542 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3542 IH SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN HUMAN-ANIMAL CHI- 1 MERAS. 2 Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended 3 by inserting after chapter 51 the following: 4 ‘‘CHAPTER 52—CERTAIN TYPES OF 5 HUMAN-ANIMAL CHIMERAS PROHIBITED 6 ‘‘Sec. ‘‘1131. Definitions. ‘‘1132. Prohibition on certain human-animal chimeras. ‘‘§ 1131. Definitions 7 ‘‘In this chapter the following definitions apply: 8 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITED HUMAN-ANIMAL CHIMERA.— 9 The term ‘prohibited human-animal chimera’ 10 means— 11 ‘‘(A) a human embryo into which a 12 nonhuman cell or cells (or the component parts 13 thereof) have been introduced to render the em- 14 bryo’s membership in the species Homo sapiens 15 uncertain; 16 ‘‘(B) a human-animal embryo produced by 17 fertilizing a human egg with nonhuman sperm; 18 ‘‘(C) a human-animal embryo produced by 19 fertilizing a nonhuman egg with human sperm; 20 ‘‘(D) an embryo produced by introducing a 21 nonhuman nucleus into a human egg; 22 ‘‘(E) an embryo produced by introducing a 23 human nucleus into a nonhuman egg; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:11 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3542.IH H3542 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3542 IH ‘‘(F) an embryo containing at least haploid 1 sets of chromosomes from both a human and a 2 nonhuman life form; 3 ‘‘(G) a nonhuman life form engineered 4 such that human gametes develop within the 5 body of a nonhuman life form; 6 ‘‘(H) a nonhuman life form engineered 7 such that it contains a human brain or a brain 8 derived wholly or predominantly from human 9 neural tissues; 10 ‘‘(I) a nonhuman life form engineered such 11 that it exhibits human facial features or other 12 bodily morphologies to resemble human fea- 13 tures; or 14 ‘‘(J) an embryo produced by mixing 15 human and nonhuman cells, such that— 16 ‘‘(i) human gametes develop within 17 the body of the resultant organism; 18 ‘‘(ii) it contains a human brain or a 19 brain derived wholly or predominantly from 20 human neural tissues; or 21 ‘‘(iii) it exhibits human facial features 22 or other bodily morphologies to resemble 23 human features. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:11 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3542.IH H3542 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3542 IH ‘‘(2) HUMAN EMBRYO.—The term ‘human em- 1 bryo’ means an organism of the species Homo sapi- 2 ens during the earliest stages of development, from 3 1 cell up to 8 weeks. 4 ‘‘§ 1132. Prohibition on certain human-animal chi- 5 meras 6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any per- 7 son to knowingly, in or otherwise affecting interstate com- 8 merce— 9 ‘‘(1) create or attempt to create a prohibited 10 human-animal chimera; 11 ‘‘(2) transfer or attempt to transfer a human 12 embryo into a nonhuman womb; 13 ‘‘(3) transfer or attempt to transfer a non- 14 human embryo into a human womb; or 15 ‘‘(4) transport or receive for any purpose a pro- 16 hibited human-animal chimera. 17 ‘‘(b) PENALTIES.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever violates subsection 19 (a) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not 20 more than 10 years, or both. 21 ‘‘(2) CIVIL PENALTY.—Whoever violates sub- 22 section (a) and derives pecuniary gain from such vio- 23 lation shall be subject to a civil fine of the greater 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:11 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3542.IH H3542 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3542 IH of $1,000,000 and an amount equal to the amount 1 of the gross gain multiplied by 2. 2 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section does 3 not prohibit research involving the use of transgenic ani- 4 mal models containing human genes or transplantation of 5 human organs, tissues, or cells into recipient animals, if 6 such activities are not prohibited under subsection (a).’’. 7 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT. 8 The table of chapters for part I of title 18, United 9 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat- 10 ing to chapter 51 the following: 11 ‘‘52. Certain types of human-animal chimeras prohibited.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:11 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3542.IH H3542 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS